


Raffled

by maiden_aunt (SCFrankles)



Category: Dear Ladies
Genre: Community: fan_flashworks, First Person, Gen, Humor, Random Jotting from Dame Hilda
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-14
Updated: 2015-05-14
Packaged: 2018-03-30 14:14:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 568
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3939844
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SCFrankles/pseuds/maiden_aunt
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Dame Hilda makes a random jotting in her journal about a recent church fete.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Raffled

**Author's Note:**

> Written for [Challenge 118: Wager](http://fan-flashworks.livejournal.com/500659.html) at [Fan Flashworks](http://fan-flashworks.livejournal.com/) on LJ.
> 
> Hinge and Bracket were created by Patrick Fyffe and George Logan. _Dear Ladies_ was written by Fyffe and Logan, and Gyles Brandreth, and produced by the BBC. _The Random Jottings of Hinge and Bracket_ was written by Gerald Frow.
> 
> * * *

My companion Dr. Evadne Hinge and myself have lived in Stackton Tressel now for over 25 years. And during that time we seem to have been almost continuously raising money for the roof of our local church. Just when the end is in sight, some further damage always seems to occur. We did almost see the roof mended in 1968 but unfortunately, the day before the work was due to begin, the steeple was struck by lightning during the bishop’s visitation. I believe this to have been due to the vagaries of the English weather rather than divine disapproval. Though the bishop did resign shortly afterwards and move to South America.

But regarding the fund for the roof: I had been feeling it was perhaps time to throw in the towel. Well, it would certainly soak up some of the pools of water on the church floor. However, Evadne insisted we should take the long term view, being confident we would reach the target eventually.

And so recently we did our bit for yet another church fete. I took charge of the tea tent, and Evadne did “Guess the Name of the Toy”, as she has done for the last three years. You know, you pay 5p and put down your guess. The one who gets the name right takes home the toy. That sort of thing. Evadne does make one minor adjustment though—participants can choose the same name if they so desire and then she does a little draw out of all the tickets belonging to the people who have chosen correctly.

The first year though this rule was rather moot. The local toy shop had donated a lovely doll—beautiful outfit, wouldn’t have minded wearing it myself—and Evadne selected a name. She then gave the rather obscure clue that it had been the name of her best friend at university. And it turned out she’d given the doll the somewhat unimaginative name of “Dolly”. _Nobody_ guessed it. Well, I mean. How were they supposed to know Evadne had once been a friend of Dorothy?

The next year the toy shop donated a teddy bear, and Evadne gave the slightly more helpful clue that he shared a name with a distinguished resident of Stackton. A few rather clever parishioners remembered Dolly from last year, and did manage to guess Evadne had called the bear “Teddy” after our town clerk Teddy Tranter.

_This_ year the donated toy was a cat. And finally everyone had got wise to Evadne’s naming scheme. She didn’t even need to offer a clue. I think nearly everyone who attended bought a ticket and they all chose… “Kitty”. Only one person could win, of course, but they all seemed happy to have been clever enough to get the name right.

I did bring it up with Evadne later though. 

“Evadne, dear,” I said. “Don’t you think it’s time you started going for more unusual names? I mean, _everyone_ guessed the name. There was such a scramble to buy tickets. Yours must have been the busiest stall in the whole fete and—” I ground to a halt as the penny dropped.

“Yes, “ said Evadne, smirking, “and I’ve now collected the final part of the amount needed to get the roof mended.”

“You crafty old doctor...” I said.

Evadne raised one eyebrow. “As I’ve always said, you have to take the long term view.”


End file.
